By the Sword (30 page)

*****

Tanel grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands as he blocked countless more attacks.

“Give me strength, Lord. I can’t do this alone.”

He stabbed at an enemy knight, but missed. All he could do was deflect blows as the fully armored Malinorians came at him.

“I’m here, Tanel,” said a familiar, booming voice.

Endil was at his side – mace in one hand and sword in the other. He knocked out the next ten knights that came charging at them with ease, but twenty more came.

He glanced at Tanel.

“Follow me, lad.”

Tanel ran alongside the formidable man with their enemy in close pursuit. Chrissa joined them, matching their pace.

There was a small hill ahead where several others readied themselves for another influx of Malinorians. Tanel liked the idea. They would have much more advantage over their enemy by fighting them from above.

Tanel nearly tripped over something. It was a quiver full of arrows lying beside a fallen archer. He snatched it up with his free hand and made his way up the hill.

The giants stood at the base of the hill as a barrier. The large men moved aside so that Chrissa, Endil, and Tanel could get through.

Tanel shrugged off his empty quiver and strapped on the new one just as the Malinorians began to fight their way up the hill. The giants did their best to keep the enemy at bay, but several enemy soldiers still streamed through.

As fast as his arms would allow him, Tanel shot a fresh round of arrows at his enemies. It helped, but every time a man was shot down, another ran up in his place.

Once again, they were surrounded by the entirety of the imperial army. Chrissa and Endil stood in front of him, while Pori and Timlin stood on either side of him. His friends blocked and stabbed at their foes, sending them tumbling down the hill. Tanel took down as many men as he could with his blade once his arrows had run out again.

It was the best position that they could be in under the circumstances, but that was hardly saying much. They needed another miracle soon.

Tanel glanced up at the sky.

Lord, we have come so far. Please, help us.

*****

General Edandir groaned as he was shaken back to consciousness. It took a while for his vision to focus. Several Malinorian palace guards encircled him. Ittonifer stood close by glaring at him.

Edandir’s head thundered in pain, and he longed for Seline’s bitter tea.

“Get up, Edandir. Your execution awaits,” said Ittonifer.

General Edandir got up, still lightheaded. He had never felt so groggy in all his life. One of the guards tied Edandir’s hands behind his back.

“Move!” shouted Ittonifer.

Edandir and Jalarn followed the guards out of the castle and toward the field where the battle raged. What remained of Sanctus’ army was on a hill. They were fighting off thousands of oncoming Malinorians.

Edandir’s anger suddenly overshadowed his fatigue. He should have been out there helping them. Now, he was a helpless prisoner of Ittonifer – about to be decapitated.

At least my daughter is out of harm’s way now.

“Will Talya be all right?” asked Jalarn.

Edandir had a difficult time believing that it was Ittonifer’s nephew asking him that question. The deep concern in the lad’s eyes was genuine.

“I believe that she will live. She has to. I took her back to camp and the doctor is helping her now. She risked a lot for you.”

“I know.”

“Good. Now, let’s settle the matter of your eternity. It looks like we might be entering it sooner rather than later.”

Jalarn looked downward. His shoulders slumped.

“You fear death?”

“I am not afraid of anything! I just know that God will never forgive me after all that I have done to His people. I don’t think I can even forgive myself.”

“Jalarn,” Edandir lowered his voice so that Ittonifer couldn’t overhear, “you saved Talya’s life. You turned against a wicked empire. You are not the same person that you used to be. I can see now that you regret what you did. God will forgive you if you ask.”

Jalarn stared at him with an odd expression. It was definitely a conversation that neither one of them would have imagined they would have.

“But it can’t be enough to wipe out what I have done. You know very well how many innocent, good people I have killed. He doesn’t want me.”

“The only one that can wipe out your sins is Jesus. He rose from the dead after He died for everyone’s sins and then overcame the devil. There is nothing that you could have done that He will not forgive. He had to die for us, because not one person could ever go to God’s Kingdom by his own righteousness. I was just as much of a sinner as you were.”

“Talya said the same—”

“Enough!” shouted Ittonifer.

He walked over and slammed his elbow into Jalarn’s stomach. Jalarn flinched, but resumed the straight, rigid posture of a respected general.

“Your delightful little conversation is over, gentlemen,” Ittonifer sneered.

He moved between them.

*****

Thick black storm clouds loomed above as a lightning bolt crashed down close to the battle. Rain poured down in succession. It was as though the weather was mocking them.

Tanel’s arms had grown weary of the constant stabbing and slashing.

“Don’t lose faith, knights!” said General Sanere from the other side of the hill.

“Amen!” shouted Endil.

“But there’re too many of them!” cried a soldier nearby.

As quickly as the words left his mouth, a Malinorian warrior stabbed him through the chest. Tanel tried to focus as his aching arms protested against the impact of an enemy knight’s sword.

“Lord, do you want your people to die at the hand of our enemies today?” he asked.

A deep, authoritative voice echoed over the battlefield.

“Knights of Malinor, halt!”

It was Ittonifer.

Almost instantly, the fighting from both sides ceased.

All of Ittonifer’s men froze and faced their leader.

Tanel swallowed as Ittonifer and his ten guards approached the battlefield. General Edandir and Jalarn were standing with them, bound by their hands.

Panic surged through Tanel.

“Dear God,” breathed Endil.

Ittonifer’s jet-black stare flashed at Chrissa. For a moment, it looked as if he were going to say something to her. Instead, he looked away.

“Warriors of Malinor, behold your traitor,” said Ittonifer.

His hand motioned toward Jalarn as his booming voice echoed across the misty field.

“Your former general turned his back on me and everything that this empire stands for. He chose to side with our enemy”.

A former Malinorian knight that was standing next to Tanel gasped.

“It can’t be,” he said.

Tanel could barely believe it himself. He looked at Chrissa, who gaped in obvious shock.

“My once trusted and highly favored general has turned his back on our lord and attempted to kill me in my own castle. Alas, the fool is now at my mercy, and you all know that I have none.”

“No!” cried Chrissa.

Her voice was mostly drowned out by the deep laughter that rumbled throughout the massive Malinorian army.

“It is clear that Sanctus has lost, but before they all die, I want them to witness the death of their beloved General Edandir.”

The masses fell silent.

“God help us,” Tanel breathed.

“And you mice that dared to leave my army and join up with them will suffer the brunt of my wrath. Yes, I have a very
special
death planned for you, but first I will rid the earth of this worthless worm.”

Ittonifer unsheathed his powerful broad sword and stalked over to his nephew. The guards forced Jalarn to kneel. Jalarn bowed his head. He had clearly defied their lord, but Tanel wondered if he had surrendered his life to God, the true king.

“Oh God, this can’t be happening,” said Chrissa. “I need to go down there.”

Tanel gently extended his arm in front of her as she stepped forward, shaking his head.

Ittonifer’s angry voice punched the air.

“Look what you have given up, Jalarn! Now you are a loser like the rest of them. When you die, you will have nothing.”

He glared down at his nephew and punched him in the mouth. Jalarn spat out fresh blood, but said nothing.

Chrissa covered her mouth and choked back a sob. Tanel placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Remember, God is on our side,” he whispered to her.

“What about
his
?”

Ittonifer stalked over to Edandir and kicked him so hard in the back that he fell to his knees and slammed into the mud, face first.

Fury rose from Tanel’s belly. How dare he treat a respected general that way? Only Malinorians treated their enemies like that.

“Looks like you shouldn’t have turned your back on the prince all those years ago. Look where your new belief has brought you, fool,” said Ittonifer.

Tanel spun around and faced Endil.

“Let’s go,” Tanel hissed.

Endil shook his head.

“It will only make things worse, lad,” he said.

Tanel gritted his teeth. They had to do something. They were about to die anyway.

 
Ittonifer rolled Edandir over with his boot,
then
spat in his face.

“Stop!” cried Chrissa.

“You try doing that again, devil worshipper, and you’ll regret it!” shouted Endil.

Endil lifted his mace angrily.

Ittonifer’s demoniacal glare went to the formidable knight of Sanctus.

“Big talk for one that is vastly outnumbered. I will keep you in mind when I am deciding who I will order to be hung, drawn, and quartered!”

“You have no quarrel with him,” said Edandir.

“That is for me to decide.”

A line of warlocks marched toward the armies. The robed men appeared eerie in the thick mist that shrouded the field. Edandir already knew what Ittonifer intended to do. He would use their sorcery to torture his captors before sending them to their deaths. What a mess.

Lord, if it is Your will for us to die today, I will do so willingly, but I just ask that You spare my army the pain and agony that the devil wills for them to endure.

Ittonifer grinned at his approaching magicians. Then, he looked down at Jalarn.

“You will pay the dearest for turning against me.”

“I do not regret saving Talya,” said Jalarn.

General Edandir’s stomach knotted. The second most powerful man in Malinor had risked his life to save Talya, but there was nothing that Edandir could do to repay him.

Lord, he doesn’t think that he is worthy of
Your
forgiveness. Please show him that he is before it’s too late.

Ittonifer glared at the magicians.

“I want you to cast the most agonizing spell known on my
former
general.”

Both armies fell silent.

One person cried out. It was Chrissa.

Everyone else stood fixated on the warlocks.

As one, the magicians removed their hoods. The rain poured down on their clean-shaven heads. Edandir expected their solemn chants to fill the air, but they did not utter a word.

Edandir held his breath.

“Are you daft?” asked Ittonifer.

“No, Ittonifer,” said the eldest one.

Edandir assumed that he was the leader.

“Mote, what in the devil’s name are you doing?” asked Ittonifer.

“There will not be any spells cast. Today we saw the light. The Lord Almighty destroyed the devil’s image right before our eyes.”

“What is this?”

Mote stepped away from the other men and looked at both armies.

“God delivered us from the deep witchcraft in which we had immersed ourselves. We no longer do evil, and are here to proclaim before everyone that our Lord and Savior is merciful and will deliver us from the snare of the devil.”

Edandir could hardly believe what he was hearing. The men that had submitted themselves to Ittonifer’s religion for years were no longer servants of the devil. They were now calling on the Lord for help. And they were willing to die for Him?

Maybe I am still dreaming. That guard knocked me out really hard back at the castle.

On the other side of Ittonifer, Jalarn gaped at the robed men.

It was a miracle, but Ittonifer still had a vast army on his side.

Ittonifer drew his sword.

“That means that you are no longer able to stop me. You are now useless fools, and I will kill you all myself!”